Patrick Kennedy on the status of mental health treatment in America

Suffering from bipolar disorder himself, former Congressman Patrick Kennedy is a strong advocate for changing the way we do mental health care.

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In his State of the State address in January, Governor Rick Snyder told lawmakers that Michigan must do better when treating people with mental health issues. The governor vowed to not only increase state funding for mental health, but also to work towards community-based treatment solutions.

Nationally known mental health advocate Patrick J. Kennedy is speaking in Lansing today. In Congress, he wrote and sponsored the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. As the name implies, the act put the reimbursement of mental health services on par with medical or surgical services. The former congressman discusses the status of mental health treatment in America.